Be not afraid of faith: some are born with faith, some achieve faith, and some have faith thrust upon them (with apologies to William Shakespeare,Twelfth Night).
INTRODUCTION
“How best, do you think, to offer this question in an appealing way (Why believe in God?) ?” This was the crux of a comment by a philosophy professor on a recent post of mine. It got me thinking. In that post I had discussed my “Top Down to Jesus” road to faith, an intellectual process, aided by “in the heart” musical occasions. But that’s not the way most people come to believe. Rather they are moved by the heart, not the brain.
So, let’s talk about faith as a personal story. And very often a story where the Holy Spirit reaches down to those in the gutter, drags them out and lights their way to salvation.
STORIES OF RECOVERY, CONVERSION AND REVERSION
I am a member of the Calix Society, an organization that welds principles of the 12 Step programs to Catholic teaching. It’s the practice in 12 Step meetings for members to go around the table and talk about their recovery: “Hi, I’m Bob K and I’m an ____ (alcoholic, addict, co-dependent, food addict, sex and lust addict, gambler,… —fill in the blank).”
In the online Calix meetings I’ve attended, I’ve heard many such stories. They have a common theme: at the bottom, in the gutter, in the depths of despair, the Holy Spirit in one form or another shows that God is present, leads the man or woman to a meeting and thence to God and, for some, back to the Church. To illustrate the third part of the lead quotation, “some have faith thrust upon them,” I’ll recount one of these stories, altering details in order to preserve anonymity. Let me first quote Bill W’s story, which is a classic tale of conversion experiences (Bill Wilson was one of the co-founders of AA):
“I was in black despair. And in the midst of this I remembered about this God business. . . and I rose up in bed and said, ‘If there be a God, let him show himself now!’ All of a sudden there was a light. . .a blinding white light that filled the whole room. A tremendous wind seemed to be blowing all around me and right through me. I felt as if I were standing on a high mountain top. . . I felt that I stood in the presence of God.” quoted in “Bill Wllson’s Call on God for Help”
EVAN B’S STORY
Evan B had been educated in Catholic schools, gone to a Catholic college, but had fallen away from the Church. He was one of the Poinsettia and Lily Catholics (Christmas and Easter only). Here’s his story.
“My wife had changed the locks. When I tried to get in, she told me to sober up or it was the end of our marriage. I drove back to the bar; it was an hour before closing time, but because of the weather, only one other person was there. I must have bought a bottle from the barkeep, because I found an empty in the car later. i had driven downtown, gotten out of the car (I don’t remember how) and fallen into a snow bank. All I remember is that in the cold there was a warm presence, Our Lady, who was telling me to get up and get back into the car, that I didn’t have to do this. That I should get to an AA meeting.”
“I don’t know how it happened, but there was a Church nearby, where I’d gone to an AA meeting two weeks earlier. It was 6:50 am, 10 minutes before the meeting was to start and that’s when I began to be sober. From then on, I just had to think of that experience, the warm presence and the voice telling me to get up and go to a meeting. And it was my return to the Church.”
THE COMMON THEME AND THE GIFT OF ADDICTION
This theme–the voice, the presence, prompting, inploring—is common to the stories men and women tell abou recovery from alcoholism, addiction, codependency . And, in a sense their addiction has been a great gift. Would they (and I) have come to the Church without this gift? I can testify in my own case, probably not. God has given us a rocky road to salvation, with potholes and crevasses, but a road, nonetheless. It is not only the narrow way, but the rough way.
1 thought on “Addiction: A Rocky Road to Faith”
Addiction
Fabulous and incredible stories, indeed!
The longing that remained dormant but firm in their subconscious minds and that was kept captive by the force of physical drives and appetites of the body (I call this force Life of Realisation: LoR, in short) finally found its way out in these two stories.
Blessed people those two guys are!
Best wishes: May God guide them and protect them!
There are people under addictions in millions and millions around the world. The addicts come under various fields such as alcohol, sex, food, even work etc.
Man belongs to the mammalian family of the animal Kingdom where the LoR decides their culture of Animalism. Although man too is an animal he is distinct due to the presence of Wisdom and Intelligence that give rise to his human culture or rationalism. The Wisdom and Intelligence of man come from Divine Life instilled in him on creation by God and that distinguishes him from not only the animals but also from the rest of the entire entities of God in the created realm of the Universe.
LoR that gives rise to temptations to man including addiction as well is the cause of all evils in the world but it is essential for him and statutorily needed also.
Please note what Jesus has said:
“And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin[a] are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!” Lk. 17:1
Man is expected to utilize LoR as a platform for the execution of rational activities that decides his culture of humanism or rationalism. He should never ever submit to it or surrender to its traits. If happened so man will become to animal depicting the culture of animalism.
Though much time has elapsed since his origin, man is yet to learn and ensure correct grasp of LoR of his body. Jesus’ mission on Earth, primarily, was to educate man and save him by ensuring LoR’s full servility under him.
Please note the Biblical quote:
“15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
Genesis 2: 15-17
The command by God “17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” is a hint to the LoR. God permits man to enjoy everything on Earth except his submission to LoR. It is so because, if not, animalism will win over him.
Most important two other sentences by the author, in my opinion, are:
“But that’s not the way most people come to believe. Rather they are moved by the heart, not the brain.”
He deserves special salutation. In Churches and retreat centres the divine leaders encourage an emotional way to spirituality rather than the way by brain.
Jesus, in fact, promotes man to go by brain mainly. Please see some biblical quotes that ratify my stand:
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
“32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” Mt.24:32
“2 He answered them,[a] “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” Mt. 16: 2-3
“24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; 25 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; 27 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
Mt. 7:24-27
“31 Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”
Lk. 14:31
In all the above mentioned Biblical quotes doesn’t Jesus’ call prefer man to go by brain in life?